Princess Celestia, the primary Diarch of the kingdom of Equestria and the one pony capable of raising the Sun to provide life and light for those of the world, was currently faced with one of the most frustrating and confounding of situations.

Before the wedding's earliest of proceedings could even take place, her young nephew Prince Blue Blood had appeared before her on the dais and decided to make his opinion on the marriage of Princess Cadence and their, as he put it, glorified guard dog, known to all present. He stood before her now, holding up the entire event, as he spouted nonsense off a scroll that floated aloft before him, held in his magic.

"-Furthermore, the marriage between a royal such as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and any other would-be suitor should benefit Equestria as a whole. I don't see how her marrying someone within the guard, someone whom I might add who is not of noble birth-" He continued in his haughty tone all the while Celestia vaguely tuned him in and out.

This had not been the first time he had approached her on this subject, and she already knew that her answer would not change. Cadence would be allowed to choose any suitor that she deemed worthy, not whomever the government thinks she should be with. However, Blue Blood's problem stems from another issue altogether, he wanted her for himself. It was no secret among the nobles or royals, that Blue Blood is and always will be a narcissistic mule. But it is also known that he pines for Cadence, who had turned down his advances on more than several occasions.

She even had to put a restraining order on him for a time. Celestia tried to bring peace between the two, but Blue Blood was relentless and Cadence had simply become disgusted with him and his shallow attitude.

Celestia had tried to subtly teach her nephew the error of his ways, but it had all fallen on deaf ears it would seem. Glancing about her, she saw many of the other room occupants were just as bored as she was with this farce. With a sigh, she steeled her gaze and leveled it on Blue Blood just as he took a moment to prepare for the next part of his speech.

"Enough!" Blue Blood's mouth snapped shut and everypony looked to Celestia as she stood firm, her wings spread and her gaze hard as she stared him down. Blue Blood gulped silently as he rolled up the scroll and returned it to his coat, he knew when his aunt wasn't playing around, but he stood tall in spite of the fury in her gaze.

"I have been patient with you Blue Blood, but you seem adamant in your ignorance of what you were taught. My verdict now will be the same as it has always been, Cadence is her own mare and may marry whom she chooses! Guards!" The doors to the ballroom slammed open at her call, everypony in the pews turning to watch as four guards in pristine day guard armor marched in quickly, approaching the two royals.

"Ma'am!" The lead officer, a light grey pegasus mare who stood almost a hoof shorter than the other four, saluted the princess alongside her comrades.

"Lieutenant Steel Blitz, I want you and your squad to secure the prince in his chambers for the remainder of the evening. He is not to leave without my authorization, understood?" Steel Blitz's dark green eyes almost turned gleeful and Celestia almost felt a twinge of regret at having put her on guard outside the wedding today... Almost.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Turning on her hooves, she clopped her right hoof on the ground loud enough for a single loud clap.

Instantly, two of the three guards lit their horns as the third, a large earth pony, kicked Blue Blood's back legs and causing him to kneel before them.

"Gah! What do you think you are doing! Aunty, you can't honestly let them do this to me!?" Blue Blood whimpered at his aunt as the two unicorns combined their magic to form a single, sparkling silver chain that wrapped around his torso and front hooves, holding them to his chest. Celestia looked at him in pity as they began to drag him from the wedding hall.

"I am sorry nephew, but sometimes, a lesson must be taught the hard way. I will see you after the wedding, we have much to discuss." She fell silent as he yelled at the guards dragging him away, demanding to be released at once.

The other nobles and guests stared in shock at the scene, never before had such a thing occurred in front of them, much less at the command of their benevolent, loving princess.

"Ahem..." Everypony turned to the front and found not the harsh gaze of a ruler, but the kind smile of the princess that they knew.

"I do apologize for that everypony, I had been meaning to talk to him about his, attitude, in a more private manner, but we are pressed for time. Now, we have a wedding to continue!" With that, there were smiles and small bits of laughter that reverberated through the crowd.

Meanwhile, the remaining bearers of the Elements of Harmony and Twilight's closest friends stood off to Celestia's right. Rarity was nearly having a fit trying not to laugh alongside Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who had no such qualms. Fluttershy looked towards the door with pity while Applejack merely shook her head.

"Some ponies jus' don' know when ta give up." She stated her southern slang as natural as a scarecrow in a wheat field. The others nodded, giving small sounds of agreement.

'Now that that's over...' Celestia thought as the groom stepped up to her left and the birds that Fluttershy had trained began to sing. The door to the ballroom opened once more, but instead of hardened military, Princess Cadence began her walk down the aisle. Everypony looked to her with bright smiles and hope-filled eyes. Her white dress with golden trim shimmering in the light of the sun that poured in through the windows on all sides of the ballroom.

Celestia's smile outshone all of those in the room. Everything about this day was going to be perfect, just as her niece had hoped, nothing could go wrong...

'Twilight...' Her heart nearly dropped out of her chest as she suddenly felt cold. Her eyes looked to her left where the groom stood for a brief moment, noting only the absence of a single mare. An important mare who should have been here, but had fallen to darker thoughts and now had been left alone. Spike stood next to Shining Armor, a suit and tie covering his scales and holding a red pillow with a set of golden horn rings. He shifted nervously from paw to paw, glancing around repeatedly, no doubt looking for his guardian and sister figure. She had to stop herself from sighing openly.

'I... I will talk to her after the wedding. Things will be fine, I'm sure. It was all just a misunderstanding of course...' She nodded to herself and turned her attention once more back to Cadence as she approached them, a bright smile upon her face and small tears in her eyes.

"Forsaken"

The steady sound of pulsing flesh echoed within the caverns, slowly growing in strength.

With each strong beat, movement began to return to the cave. A pulsing black organ, within a massive puddle of steaming black sludge, began to rise. Thin black veins trailed from within the puddle, holding the flesh aloft as though it were a morbid work of art. The rest of the puddle began to shift as the pulsing grew stronger, the veins visibly bulging as they jerked in motion, like a grim picture book.

With another loud pulse, long protrusions resembling bones began to form from the depths of the puddle, connecting to one another as they formed a frame once familiar, but oh so foreign. The small organ was soon engulfed in a cage of dark ribs, protecting it from the elements.

Each fresh pulse of the organ now directed the fluid beneath as it began to twist and mold into red muscle, tendons, and sinew. Wrapping its way around the structure, the flesh flexing and stretching to form. With the organ now hidden beneath its cage of flesh and bone, its macabre symphony was drowned out, but the show continued in spite of the organ's silence.

The last of the muscle soon reached the base of a horn that rested on the forehead of the skull, skin starting to grow in patches around the body that had been born from the puddle beneath it.

The skin started off a light pink when it had grown, but now a dark purple began to stain it. It grew darker and darker as the color spread and stretched across the body. Fur began to sprout upon the new skin, a dark purple matching the hide beneath. From the top of the head, a dark, near-black mane of disheveled hair began to bleed from the scalp, all while a similarly colored tail began to trail from its flank.

Eyelids snapped open to reveal black orbs with three, almost unnoticeable, glowing teal dots that sat in a triangular shape within each eye, a black fluid eerily reminiscent of the puddle below pouring from them as though a mockery of tears. The image of a black, four-cornered star, trailed by two smaller white ones on its upper left and lower right corners, slowly faded into existence upon both sides of her flank.

All was silent for a moment as the being took time to realize itself. Her tears dripped into the puddle beneath her, small ' plips' being the only sound to echo around her.

"...." She turned slowly, her hooves lifting from the puddle beneath her, making small splashing sounds. She looked down to see herself within the puddle and merely stared. Lifting her right hoof, she looked its stained surface over as the liquid dripped from her leg and back into the puddle beneath her.

"... Interesting..." Her eyes snapped open as she looked around for the strange voice that echoed with the sounds of others. It was as if an older mare, a younger mare, and a filly had all spoken at once. Their voices not combining, but echoing around one another.

"...Hello?" She asked cautiously, only to hear the voice once more. This time she realized it was not somepony else who was speaking, but it had been her own voice. She gazed back down at her reflection within the puddle, the darkness of the cave meaning nothing to her eyes that could see through it as though she were in the open light. She stared at herself, not knowing who she was or why she was here.

'Everything is... fuzzy' She thought as she tried to recall what happened. What could have brought her here? She closed her eyes and she strained to remember. Blinking in confusion, she glanced at her surroundings. Other than the puddle, nothing seemed familiar-

Her eyes caught the sight of scorch marks in the crystal walls... The sound of mocking laughter and magical blasts being fired echoed in her memory. Her eyes widened as she recalled her previous life. Images had begun to flash before her mind in rapid succession, a warm home filled with books, a small dragon with a bright smile, her family, her friends, her mentor... the wedding... the betrayal... the pain... the anger... the hatred!

Her eyes snapped open alongside her mouth, which opened far wider than it should. Stretches of skin and flesh connected her upper and lower jaw as the skin of her cheeks ripped themselves apart. Her teeth, rows of sharp, dagger-like protrusions, gleamed in the darkness as an acidic hiss escaped her throat, black saliva dripping from her mouth.

The puddle beneath her boiled and hissed as two large bulges began to grow from it, each one snaking around her front legs and raising to her eye level. Three crimson red eyes opened upon the top of each tendril and gaping mouths of sharp teeth spread below them. The serpents snapped and hissed as the mare glared into the darkness.

'I remember now! I remember all of it!' She began to walk forward, her legs stained black from the puddle that followed beneath her, a dark stain left in its wake.

'I am... was... Twilight Sparkle... I was the personal student of Princess Celestia... I was the Element of Magic... I was... I was... BETRAYED!' A black mist steamed from her body flowing around her and the twin serpents, as they seemed to grow in size, their angry hissing getting louder and her own body starting to grow lankier. Her ribs began to show through her fur and skin as she grew taller while her horn started to get longer and curved, sharpening its front edge.

'I'm going to consume them!' She screamed in her head, images of blood and dismembered bodies sprang to life in her mind. The image of a burning Canterlot, vivid in her mind's eye.

With a start she froze, her eyes shaking as she realized what she had been thinking.

'Wh-what?' Her body shrank as she returned to her previous form. Her horn returning to normal and her jaw reconnecting itself, her sharp teeth hidden away within her maw. She took a moment and sat down, her mind racing at all that had just transpired.

'Why did I...' she looked to her left and right, noticing the small remnants of the serpents as they returned to the puddle beneath her. She shook her head.

"I... I don't have time to worry about it... I have to get out of here, the wedding could still be going on, I have to stop it!" She shouted as she stood to her hooves, slightly shaking from the events that had taken place. Her strange, distorted voice echoed through the caverns.

"Hello!" Her head snapped to her right, she was close to a crystal wall and she could have sworn she heard a voice on the other side.

"Hello is anypony there!? I thought I heard something!" She walked closer to the wall, keeping silent as she placed her ear to its surface, listening carefully.

" My name is Princess Cadence! I need your help if you can hear me!" She snapped.

With a terrifying roar, she returned to her twisted, demonic state, her serpents striking forward alongside three more long, black clawed tendrils that formed from the fluid beneath her.

The wall was smashed to rubble in an instant and she was upon the trembling form within the dust in moments, her eyes locked on the pony beneath her who stared back in shock and horror.

With a scream she tried to run, only to have her back left leg snatched within the teeth of one serpent. Her scream of fear turned to pain as she struggled to get away, her horn flickering with a blue light as she tried to use magic, but to no avail. Twilight hissed hungrily, her jaw spreading even wider, skin splitting to reveal the depths of her gaping maw as a long, slithering tongue slipped from her mouth, black fluid dripping down its length and past her teeth, as the serpent slowly pulled her towards its master.

"St-stop! Pl-please! I'm beg-begging you!" Cadence cried out as she fought to gain purchase on the ground, blood pouring from the biting teeth on her rear leg.

"I... will... DEVOUR YOU!" Twilight hissed out as her murderous gaze bore hungrily into the mare, the liar, the backstabber, the insect that caused it all!

Author's Notes:

Shaded: "CLIFFHANGER!!!"

Smack!

Shaded: "OW! What was that for!"

Twilight: "Really? You think you can vanish for Five Fucking YEARS and you think you can leave a cliffhanger on the first chapter!?"

Shaded: .... yes?

Twilight: "..." Incoherent screeching

Shaded: "SHIT!"

Screams of pain and suffering!

Dimmed Star: "Well... at least his writing is better, oi you, get to the disclaimer, and don't forget to mention the new guy!"

Blue Blood: whimpering in fear "Ahem... Shaded Blood does not own MLP: FIM or the Equinox Ponies, nor does he own the Song listed in the story..."

Dimmed Star: Growling "Aaaaaand?"

Blue Blood: Begins to sweat A-and a s-special thanks to King Blackfire for Proof reading and editing!

Dimmed Star: "Good lunch!"

Blue Blood: Backs away slowly as she approaches. "L-l-l-lunch?"

Shaded: Ignoring the screams of horrible agony in the background "For those who have trouble with the idea of it, here is a Video that has what I imagine Dimmed Star's voice to sound like. Skip to 01:29!"

Dimmed Star's Voice

Edit: "I also realize it's Amnesia Pinkie Pie in the video, but the take away is the effect on her voice!"